Editing Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (section)

=== Reich state secretary of the interior ===
Bethmann Hollweg was appointed state secretary of the interior by Chancellor [[Bernhard von Bülow]] immediately after the [[1907 German federal election|1907 Reichstag elections]]. Bethmann Hollweg was again reluctant to take on the post, but since he viewed the appointment as an imperial order, he ultimately saw no alternative but to accept.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zmarzlik    |first=Hans G. |title=Bethmann Hollweg als Reichskanzler, 1909–1914. Studien zu Möglichkeiten und Grenzen seiner innerpolitischen Machtstellung   |publisher=Droste   |year=1957 |location=Düsseldorf |pages=11 ff |language=de |trans-title=Bethmann Hollweg as Reich Chancellor, 1909–1914. Studies on the Possibilities and Limits of his Domestic Power Position  }}</ref>

In October 1907 he attended the German Workers' Congress, a general meeting of Christian trade unions, where the appearance of an imperial state secretary was seen as a major step forward.

In December he opposed the creation of a Reich labor office but rejected the claim that in sociopolitical matters the government would not act. "I have never discovered even a trace of tired skepticism in this activity; in it, albeit far removed from the parliamentary arena, our present-day Germany has been formed."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reichstagsprotokolle, 2 December 1907 |url=https://www.reichstagsprotokolle.de/Blatt_k12_bsb00002839_00276.html |website=Verhandlungen des Reichstags |language=de}}</ref> He felt that the "searching and groping for the new takes place among the people themselves, not among the people's representatives".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Born    |first=Karl Erich |title=Staat und Sozialpolitik seit Bismarcks Sturz    |publisher=Steiner    |year=1957 |location=Wiesbaden |pages=211 f |trans-title=State and Social Politics after Bismarck's Fall  }}</ref> It was therefore necessary to "make room for the new views that have emerged from the changed economic and social conditions".

On Bethmann Hollweg's advice, the Emperor announced electoral reform in the Kingdom of Prussia in his speech from the throne of 20 October 1908. (The Prussian electoral system was in fact not finally reformed until 12 November 1918.) Wilhelm II promised "organic further development", which he described as one of the "most important tasks of the present". Reichstag deputy [[Friedrich Naumann]], who liked the state secretary's style, later particularly emphasized Bethmann Hollweg's positive influence on the Emperor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heuss |first=Theodor |title=Friedrich Naumann |publisher=Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt |year=1937 |location=Stuttgart |pages=280 |language=de |author-link=Theodor Heuss}}</ref>